1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a computer peripheral device. More specifically, the present invention relates to a computer peripheral device having a rotatable outer cover which is coupled to and selectively extends or retracts the peripheral device from a casing, when the outer cover is rotated.
2. Related Art
As the microcomputer industry is constantly refined towards perfection, and with the rapid growth of telecommunications networks, users have an increasing demand for accessing and controlling data flow among microcomputer devices (e.g., personal computers, digital cameras, and personal data assistant devices), giving rise to a variety of computer peripheral devices (e.g., flash drives, Bluetooth® transceivers, pocket hardware, etc.). Of the various peripheral devices, devices with a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port are popular because they allow for the device to be quickly inserted or removed from a computer. In addition, the capacity of peripheral device memory has been increasing rapidly, allowing for computer peripheral device users to store increasingly larger amounts of data on these devices. As a result, peripheral devices having a USB port have become indispensable and invaluable among users.
One such commonly used peripheral device is a flash drive. A traditional flash drive is fitted with a removable cap. When a user wishes to use the flash drive, they must remove the cap from the flash drive body, allowing the flash drive USB plug to be inserted in to a corresponding computer jack. Due to the small size of the cap, it is very easy for a user to inadvertently lose the cap during the course of use. When the cap is lost, users are inconvenienced by having to find a matching cap to replace the lost cap. In addition, when the cap is lost, the USB plug is exposed, often resulting in the plug being damaged or deformed. A damaged or deformed USB plug is often incapable of being inserted into a computer jack, giving rise to unnecessary distress and inconvenience.
To solve the aforementioned problems, a rotatable computer peripheral device has been developed, as illustrated in FIG. 1. The prior art computer peripheral device comprises a casing 10, a circuit board 11 and a cover 12. The casing 10 has an opening 101 at one end and an accommodation space 102 inside. The circuit board 11 is housed inside the accommodation space 102. The circuit board 11 has a connector 111 adjacent to the opening 101 to the casing 10. The cover 12 is generally in a U-shape, with two walls running parallel to each other and extending to form a free end. The casing 10 is pivotally connected to the cover 12, such that the casing 10 can be rotated and retained inside the cover 12, or can be rotated out of the cover 12. The problem of losing the outer cover is solved with this construction. However, because both sides of the cover 12 are open, the connector 111 cannot be fully shielded when the casing 10 is housed in the cover 12. As a result, the casing 10 may be easily contaminated by outside dust and foreign objects, resulting in damage to the connector 111 of the circuit board 11.